Bear (Family)
"Never Stop Caring" Oguma family motto There were many military commanders accompanying the Mikado in his initial push into what would become the Imperial territory. While the Tiger and Wolf are usually seen as the most influencial of these leaders, Oguma Hachiro Sougo is often spoke of in hushed tones or in local legends. A lot of stories say the same thing, as to how the Great Bear saved a village from a flood, famine, angry spirits or roving bandits and how his heart was as big as he was. All and all "a good man", his descendants were granted lordship over many areas in Aijukan, where he had spent a good chunk of his career helping local raiders harass Yunjin cities in the name of the Mikado. Modern Oguma are of mixed blood, most of it being that of Sons of Heaven, but a lot of it also coming from the local Aiju people. The have as "gone local" as can be, barely talking of their high origin or taking part in rituals of their caste, prefering the simple life of the Aiju. Very close to the people, the Bear has an extremely good reputation with the lower classes and those outside of the direct authority of the Empire. While they are not rich, like the Peregrine or Tigershark, or military powerful like the Wolf or the Tiger, they are a force to be reckoned with once they are angered. The Oguma family Lordship and territory While the Bear territory is one of the largest in the empire, it is also one of the most sparsely populated and one of the poorest in term of agricultural wealth, with most of the wealth originating from their lordship emerging from raising elks, musk ox and hunting whales and seals. Mining expeditions in the Aiju wastes have been quite sucessful, however, and this mineral wealth has been building up the power of the Bear in the late 20th century and early 21st century. Most southern cities in Aijukan are actually not under the control of the Bear, but as trade with the Aiju is key to the survival of most of these cities, they owe quite a bit to the Bear in the long run. The Bear territory is harsh and dangerous, not only due to raids from their Pu, on the coast, and Oghazak, near the border, neighbor but also due ot the elements and local fauna. The Bear has always been a miltaristic family and have been protecting their territory as such. A lot of the Bear military strength comes from Aiju skirmishers and their own elite infantry and because they are not as organized as the southern legions, it is hard to estimate their actual numbers. During some of their longer feuds with the Wolf, it is estimated their strength could be equivalent to 3 or 4 Imperial Legions, which is highly unusual even for a powerful Imperial family. The Bear is well-known for his love of his people, from the lowest of the low to his highest retainer. This is often reflected with political actions which would make other lords cringe, like spending large amounts of taxes to improve fringe villages or financing military action against Oghazak raiders in areas outside of his direct control. Keeping with this reputation makes the Oguma well-loved by their nationals, but earns them the scorn of the higher echelons of the society. Culture and the arts is a tertiary concern for the Bear, which does not have the time, money or talent to invest in such endeavours. The Bear had adapted the Path of the Spirits to their own needs for quite some time, but after the strange episode with the Ice Crone, the entire Bear family has converted wholeheartedly as the lead Disciples of the Ice Crone. Vassal families The Bear was never a major family in the Empire outside of Aijukan and has never really expanded itself by integrating other influencial warrior caste families into its own. Over the year, it organically developped a few sub-branches and a few influencial Aiju families have pledged their eternal servitude to the Oguma. Important vassal families #The Shirokuma #The Tetsukuma #The Maroni #The Shizuka #The Disciples of the Ice Crone Rivals and enemies The Bear has always had a very tense relation with the Wolf. Both being powerful northern lords, they often had regional conflicts and cultural differences between the Aiju backers of the bear and the Yunjin backers of the Wolf. Those relations often grew into small wars over the year, but at the begining of the 21st century, after the death of the wife of the old Bear lord, the whole thing escalated into a full scale war, against the express will of the Shogun and Mikado. The Bear has never had good relations with the Grand Pu and other northern rivals from outside of the Empire either, which honed a lot of the military skill of the Oguma leaders, but the drastic need of the Bear for fresh trooops, especially cavalry, has led him to open his army to outsiders from Oghazak, promising them Imperial riches and lordships if they were to serve him in battle. Important members of the family #Early 21st century * Category:Great Families Category:Aijukan